A BURST water filter could jeopardise plans to save the borough's premier training swimming pool from closure.
Private firm Active Leisure Management (ALM) has been close to finalising a deal with Waltham Forest College, in Forest Road, Walthamstow, to operate its pool, which closed in September.
Both parties, and campaigners Friends of the Pool, have been confident a deal could be reached this week.
But a filter has now broken in the pool's plant room, and ALM director John Allan, is concerned it may prove too costly to fix, meaning his firm may have to pull out.
He said: “The filter has been pumping water out in all directions.
“The 71-year-old machinery has been welded and patched up so many times.
“We need to get the damage assessed and see how much it will cost.”
The company is now trying to find an engineer who specialises in repairing antiquated swimming pool plant machinery.
ALM would be willing to pay around £3,000 to fix the leak, but a quote much above that would prove problematic.
Mr Allan said the way all parties have pulled together to try to save the pool has been positive and hopes a solution can be found.
We said: “When you see the time and effort people have been putting into trying to save the pool it is a sin not to help them.”
FOTP chairman Miles Parker said: “We don't want to be stopped by this last minute technical hitch, we have cleared all the other hurdles and that has been a considerable achievement.”
Mr Parker is to contact the University of East London and Middlesex University to see whether any students could repair the leak, while Mr Allan is seeking engineers.
The college pool, which FOTP says is the only pool in the borough to offer unrestricted lane swimming, was originally due to close in 2007.
But a council-brokered and part-subsidised deal with Greenwich Leisure Ltd (GLL) gave it a two-year reprieve.
The pool closed in September because GLL was not prepared to fund it for longer and the college, which had been expecting to demolish the pool under a redevelopment plan which did not happen for funding reasons, cannot divert funds from teaching purposes.
IF you have the expertise to fix the leak, or know someone who does, call the Guardian on 07824530127.
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